Top: Jewish visitors at the entrance to Grossinger's in the Catskills, 1950s

Courtesy of the Jewish Museum of Maryland

Right: Postcard of the Roney Plaza pool in Miami Beach. Courtesy of the Jewish Museum of Maryland

On View through January 1, 2008

at the Museum of Jewish Heritage – A Living Memorial to the Holocaust

Set against the backdrop of the seashore, the mountains, or the countryside, vacations have always been a meaningful part of American Jewish life. American Jews chose their own distinctive destinations — Florida, the Catskills, Atlantic City, sites of Jewish heritage — to join with friends or in response to being excluded at other venues, creating temporary communities of like-minded people. Some vacations were pursuits of luxury and abundance, while others emphasized Jewish beliefs and traditions, but all expressed the excitement and promise of America. The history of Jewish vacationing provides a glimpse into Jewish values, past and present.

What the critics are saying

"As with Levy's rye bread,you don't have to be Jewish to love [the exhibition], or the places and times it celebrates." Newsday

"The joy of the Catskills vacation is...stunningly captured..." The Journal News

"There's even an original "Mr. Peanut" costume from Atlantic City, evidence that the Museum of Jewish Heritage isn't all somber...Relax, go nuts!" The Jewish Week

Add your vacation photos to the exhibition. Send no more than two of your scanned or digital vacation photos to vacationphotos@mjhnyc.org.

This exhibition is curated by the Jewish Museum of Maryland with generous support from the National Endowment for the Humanities. The New York exhibition is supported, in part, by The Robert Sillins Family Foundation. Media sponsorship provided by The New Jersey Jewish Standard, New Jersey's oldest independent English language Jewish newspaper.

Jewish visitors relaxing in the lounge at the Flagler

Hotel in the Catskills,

c. 1960 Courtesy of Brenda and David Silberman

For information about public programs related to the exhibition click here